Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1887-08-13
GsOvERNMENT PUBLICATIONS.
HOW the Mania for Printing Svvella
the Annual Output u Dull Reading
Matter.

"Books! Books! Books everywhere, but moth
Ing to read!" exclaimed Government Official as
he called the attention or visitor 10 big pile OF
books just received from the Government Printing
Office.
"rheir appearance is attractive" suggested the
VISITOR smiling at the poetical paraphrase Of his
friend.
ayes, they look very well on the outside he
assrnted. 'but, like the apples we used to read
ABOUT, anu Ike these, to our dtsmay, we discover,
after we have bitten into rosy-cheek, they have
mounting inviting or attractive within tue covers"
I'm other words they are Government publica-
the cessation.
THAT is IL exactly" said the Official ''Those
WoroS are becoming synonymous with stupidity
ana dreary Waste-stale, Hat, and Improbable.
II used to be, when people wanted figure Tor su-
preme duilness, they spoke Of the Patent Office
reports, but now the term Government pu6lica-
lions is likely TO take the place."
They aren't any worse than they used TO be, +"
"Pt rnaps nol," said the official, gently signing,
pat there are more OF them. Tue annual reports
are INCREASING in bulk, and there publications
OF all kinds ana every description. The bureau Of
ncers have their elaborate RI, ortS now and some
oI them are Illustrated; the clerks write essays,
anu tney are printed. There is u great printing
press constantly at work, anu any Quantity o. white
paper Is wasted. Everything is printed. There
Is no check or balance. 1t Is a free press with a
vengeance, and as long us it costs nothing no one
Is going TO take any trouble to condense Of abbre-
viate matter for the printer. 1t is so much easier
10 pI1nt. The consequence is that vast piles OF
material are thrown into the Government Print
Ing Office hopper, and handsome books are ground
out by the miiitOn. Sometimes L ere is no index
ana sometimes an Incomplete index. A mass OF
uhaiSeoteo Stun put together III u very Careless
MANNER"
NOW look at this big volume, he went on, pick
Ing up Dook lying on his desk. .1rhat Is only
one part OF an annual report. 1t is made up Of
long tables OF no value, letters written by citizens
anu official letters, long disquisiionS giving the
views OF some men whose 0.tnions are entirely
WOflnle5S anu SO nc There is ftSa
orderly statement OF the facts. II you want 10
know what has been done by any bureau you have
got 10 root around In lot OF stuff, and as likely
as not TALL TO ind tue diamond you are after /
would rather take trip through central Africa
@ m No and mife anH %oa SN
with considerable less fatigue and injury to my
health"
81 guess it is kind OF an epidemic, and will
probably disappear before long," hopefully re-
marked the reporter.
Nothing OF the sort, SIR" snorted the otHcial
and everybody else that can possibly scrape TO-
gether anything at all are now hard at work gath
eflng the trash and these reports, which are known
than that OF the head OF the department. 1t is
nothing new. Why, in 1854 Congress passed
law to cnecE this very thing, and this is what
they enacted
That it shall not be lawful for the head of any Execu
tive department or of any bureau. branch, Of
Public Printer print. any cumept or matter Of any
whatever except that which authorized by
shall any bureau oicer embrace IN his annual OF
other repor to be printed any not directly
tanning to the duties Of his Office prescribed BY law
"What good did it do? No good. It can't be
stopped. 1t is madness, a kind OF frenzy There
Is an ambition to make big books, ana ii can't be
checked"
"The Government records ought to be preserved.
you KNOW" put IN hts friend, who had been q quiet
listener. ut is necessary for future generations
that a full and detailed account be given OF the
transactions or the Executive Departments This
government Is not for to-day. or Tor tomorrow.
but for years TO come. Now, fifty years from this
time there may some question arise affecting
policy or the rights OF the Government or indvid-
uais, and 1t would be important that the Official
records should be complete. Ii letter Is quoted
only in part, Or the report OF q minor official is
condensed, there might be question as to the
merit OF the condensation. or as to the importance
OF the omitted portions. Then who is to Judge as
to what shall be lett out and what is to be In
Sertei?"
"You forget" said the official, who waited until
his friend had finished speaking, 'that the original
papers and documents are all kept on Tile In the
Departments, and the s.stem Is such that they
can be referred to at any time. These niles are
complete very nearly from the establishment OF
the government Now, what want to know is
why should we OF this generation be burdened
with this trash, as long 1t is preserved in its
original form? You can take any OF the annual
reports, OF, In fact, nearly any other Government
publication, and cOndenSe 1t to one-auarIer of its
size without depriying the public OF single fact
that there Is any necessity WISH desire on their
part to know. In this way the annual reports
would be digest OF the operations OF the De-
partments for the year, and II any one wished to
obtain further particulars he could refer to the
files But he would not have to hunt through all
the files OF the department., as he is now practi-
cally compelled to do when he c0nsults one OF the
annual reports"